


A World Made Up of Me and You

by Full_Moon_Phoenix



Series: One Pace From Disgrace (A Star Vs The Forces of Evil AU) [2]
Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:54:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24985654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Full_Moon_Phoenix/pseuds/Full_Moon_Phoenix
Summary: (A rough draft/preview of one of my WIP chapters for One Pace From Disgrace.)Back when he was still "Jester Cross", Toffee had been to the Realm of Magic once before. With Juno. They thought it could be a pretty little world just for the two of them, a wondrous place to escape their dangerous lives. But all the fun and beauty turned out to be even worse than an elaborate lie. The truth would reveal itself to one of them as a rude awakening...and the other as a gilded cage. For magic was always meant to be a curse for Monsters, a trap for Butterflys, and a drug for everyone else.
Relationships: Toffee (Star vs. The Forces of Evil)/Original Character(s)
Series: One Pace From Disgrace (A Star Vs The Forces of Evil AU) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808599
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	A World Made Up of Me and You

"BOING!"

Jester chuckled at the way Juno exaggerated the sounds of her actions. He often found himself fixating on the song-like vibrancy in her voice, the softness of her "t's" and "r's", the tidal rising and falling of her accent reminding him of his home islands.

"Jester! I'm floating away! You comin' or wha?"

She waved from atop the giant jellyfish, rising slowly into the lavender skies. He rushed to meet her, grabbing hold of one the tentacles before it rose too high and climbing just as she had. The added weight on top sent ripples through its squishy body, and Juno giggled as they both started to bounce. They crouched on the soft terrain as it moved past the golden oceans and gazed outward at more new territory, flying into an ever-growing mass of crystalline hills, plateaus, and waterfalls.

The duo found themselves swerving their heads left and right at every new and bizarre natural wonder. Juno remarked again with a loss of breath how incredible the view was. She shot him a dazzling smile, an abundance of sparkles in her excited eyes, and he smiled back. Jester, letting out a breath he might very well have been holding ever since the day he'd been locked away in that asylum, lay down on his stomach, chin on arms, and allowed himself to relax.

Relaxation was cut short by Juno yanking him back up and pulling him toward the edge. "Look! We gotta check 'em out!" She was pointing at the nearest plateau in jumping distance, where swarms of little lizards scurried beside a river bank which cut through the soft spots where the fuchsia crystals ended and the grass and dirt began. Jester had no choice but to keep pace with her as she jumped down and started examining them. They varied in shades of green, each one sprouting a unicorn horn from their foreheads, and the ones that burrowed out from the land carried what looked like a marshmallow on their horn.

Juno plucked the small white puff and lifted it eagerly to Jester's face. She popped it into her mouth without a second thought, her pupils growing in size at the burst of flavor, and exclaimed, "It _is_ a marshmallow!"

Jester had grown too used to her impulsive behavior to double-take this time, though he still had to remark, "That came from the ground."

"That's what's wild; doesn't taste like dirt!"

"Do you eat dirt on a regular basis?" he jested.

"Perhaps..." Juno knelt down to grab another and lifted it toward him. "Try it."

He shook his head and started to walk away. But with a smirk he tried to catch her off guard and snatch it from her hand. She jumped back effortlessly and played keep away, even as they toppled down onto their sides. She kept it at arm's length from herself while he stretched over her lap trying to reach it. With her free hand she pushed his head down and ruffled his hair, his chin and chest buckling under the weight and sinking onto her lap. Jester stared up at her in bitter defeat, and at last she allowed him the treat; or rather she fed it to him herself.

They laughed and ran and played throughout the day; neither one recalled the last time they'd laughed this often, but most likely it had been sometime when Eclipsa was in their lives. At the thought of her, Juno looked down at the spades on her wrists. She blew hair out of her face and removed the gauntlets, not wanting to be bothered by any mention of Mewni whatsoever. Her boots and bowtie followed suit, resting by the riverbank while she soaked her feet and let down her hair.

Jester was admiring some of the plants, a set of velvety soft palm leaves that shone with a calming bioluminescence even in the bright daylight. A glimmer from the side caught his eye, and he once again saw the light reflecting off Juno's gauntlets. But this time she wasn't wearing them. The Solarian warrior had lost her armor, and in this moment she seemed so serene, so relaxed, so happy.

And in this moment he knew felt safe sharing this single world with her.

They sat together by the riverside, the two of them finally able to relax after all their days on the run. With each new wonder they saw, each laugh they shared, each smile they gave, Juno seemed to gain another sparkle in her eyes, and Jester seemed to take another easier breath. They spoke of simpler days, of safer days, with cherished friends and family. They spoke of peacetime on Mewni, and how it never truly felt like peace. But here in this world, it was starting to.

"We can keep it all out there, k? Let them keep Mewni. We got our own whole world here, just for the two of us."

"Who needs them anyway?" Jester agreed. "We could just sit down in the magic and watch Mewni burn from here."

"Ha! To the ground!" Juno cackled as though it were the funniest thing she'd ever heard, and just kept laughing.

"Uh. It wasn't that funny..." Jester said awkwardly.

Juno double over laughing and fell headfirst into the water. Jester peered over the edge to find she'd disappeared under the surface, and looked back and forth for her. Hiding, perhaps? He lifted an eyebrow when suddenly the surface broke, and Juno shot up from the water and pecked him on the nose. He shook his head and stuck his tongue out at her, but they chuckled once more. They gazed dreamily into each other's eyes, Juno's sparkling more than ever before, even taking on a strange violet hue. So dark and wondrous in contrast with her flaming hair, practically glowing under the sun in tandem with her warm olive skin.

She grinned mischievously, then grabbed Jester under the arms and threw him over her head. He splashed under the water and got his bearings back as he shot above the surface, glaring at Juno. A cheeky smile filled her face, then Jester was taken aback as she buried the side of her face into his chest. The water was shallow enough to stand in, but the six inches she had over him forced her to crouch a bit. He once again noticed that splotch of red all over her freckled cheeks, the excuses she made to touch or be anywhere near him, the adamancy about making sure he liked her and felt safe with her.

"Juno?"

"Hm?"

Jester smirked. "I know you've been dying to kiss me ever since the Bounce Lounge."

Her blush grew even redder. She rose back up and shifted awkwardly.

"Well...may I?"

Jester stared incredulously. "For the love of-" he grumbled for a moment. _-"Yes!"_

Juno stifled a squeak, taking his face in her hands and smashed her lips against his. Jester inhaled eagerly at her suddenness, then leaned more firmly against her and held her back as her hands rubbed gently across his now pink-tinted cheeks. A thousand fireworks lit up in their stomachs, and five simple breathless seconds might as well have been a lifetime before they pulled apart in a daze.

"What were you saying before, Miss 'I'm Always Up Front With My Feelings'?" His smirk returned.

"Riiiiiight..." She danced awkwardly around her response, avoiding his eyes.

His smirk faded into a calm, adoring gaze. "Why the shyness all of a sudden?"

"I dunno. I only wanted you to feel safe around me. But at the end of the day, you're still a Monster and I've still hurt a lot of your people. I just wondered if you'd even think I was worth the time."

"Juno, this is the most at home I've felt in almost ten years," he sighed. "You've given me more respect than I could ask for, and even running for our lives it's been fun with you by my side. Whatever we've done, whoever we've hurt, we can do like you said and keep it all out there."

"Yeah," she said breathlessly. Her elation rose, and so too her energy. "Yeah! All our worries are out there. This world belongs to us..."

The new violet hue in her eyes grew fully over the aquamarine, the sparkles bright as glimmering diamonds. A subtle glow had enveloped their bodies in tandem with their joy, and this time such magic held no contempt for Jester, nor he it. He smiled sweetly and nodded before wrapping his hands around her neck, leaning up to place a sweet, gentle, caring kiss upon her lips. She ran her fingers through his velveteen, midnight blue hair, and she grabbed him by his waist and lifted him up to her height, his tail quickly wrapping around her waist for support. Their warming bodies pressed closer and deeper against each other, his scaly slate-blue skin a soothing moon against her burning starlight, as their kiss rose in passion, in hunger.

Juno felt all the worries of hurting Jester, the shame for the suffering of him and his people, melt away; all she could care about was to melt into him. All their cares could certainly stay outside this hidden place in space, this stolen moment in time. All that existed here was their passion, their adoration for each other. Here, in a world made up of just the two of them.

* * *

Jester bolted upright. He payed no mind to the splash of water next to him, as Juno weirdly payed no mind to having her head thrown off his shoulder so suddenly. That sound again. He thought it had disappeared the moment he'd set foot in this realm. Now here it was, no longer a ringing in his head, but a call from a distance...one he could finally follow with his ears alone.

Across the flat expanse, he spotted a single unicorn. He could just barely make out dark purple fur against the shallow gold waters, growing smaller toward the horizon. That song went with it, a singular subtle melody now instead of a medley of screeches, though still chaotic and indecipherable as usual. Jester refused to take his eyes off the unicorn lest it fade into the background. He shook Juno by the shoulder, who had snuggled into the sand and gladly let the waters rise and recede around her.

"Look. Over there. I think we need to follow."

"Nuh uh. I'm comfy."

Jester sighed. "Ugh fine. Don't go anywhere."

"Mm'kay."

Jester gave a reassuring pat on her shoulder, then waded through the waters toward the figure ahead, going deeper and deeper the quicker he caught up to it. By the time the water had reached his chest it became clear that the unicorn could walk it like solid land; he would have to swim after it. Just as he was about to start paddling, he heard a snort off to the side, followed by a growl. An enormous gray unicorn, with a cracked horn and many stitches across his body from what seemed old battle wounds, leered into the distance at the dark one. It didn't seem to take notice of Jester, but the quick Septarian dove underwater to be sure to avoid its malice, as it trotted on in a huff.

He followed their silhouettes as best he could, keeping below the surface as the waters grew deeper, deeper, too deep now to see the bottom. The only indication of which way was up or down were the crystal reefs and landmasses surrounding him. The war-torn horse made a sniffing motion then whipped its head down and submerged it. Jester kicked backward and swam behind a reef. The motions scared a swarm of horned sea horses (Jester would've rolled his eyes playfully at the notion of "sea unicorns"), which luckily provided just enough cover- or at least distraction -to not be noticed. Once the unicorn had its back turned and was far enough away, Jester kicked gently off the reef and lifted his head above water to take a breath.

Meanwhile the creatures spoke.

"Why do you keep coming back here? You're lamenting for something no one knows or even cares about," demanded a stern, gruff voice.

" _I_ care about it." The dark purple unicorn rang with a soothing, majestic agender voice.

"Our roots are _here_. Our _purpose_ is _here_. You can't just pretend you have no duty to fulfill."

"That place-" they motioned their head toward a location just barely obstructed from Jester's view from the surface of the water "-is all that's left of what we once were, if we ever were anything. We don't belong here. And even if we do, who decided that for us? Isn't there more to our world than this? Than magic?"

"Magic is what controls this universe," the stern voice raised, almost booming now despite its maintained composure. "And until that changes, all who oppose it have no place in this world."

The dark horse sighed bitterly. "You're just like your counterpart." The white stars that sparkled across their fur began to glow.

"And you're starting to sound just like _yours_."

_"_ Maybe that's a good thing!"

Their horns began to glow in tandem with the stars as the unicorns bore them at each other.

"Do I need to teach you our place? Or would you rather end up like the one who was supposed to take _yours_?"

The dark one lifted their head fully, standing ground against their counterpart who leaned forward with aggression. "You don't have power over me while I run this wand. You have no control over what I want for my life."

Around them, the golden waters became a deep violet, slowly spreading outwards. The grey horse staggered backwards desperately, disgusted by the mere sight. The dark magic reached the water around Jester from behind the rock he hid, and he inhaled sharply as a wave of energy rushed throughout his body. Not just invigorating, but familiar. Embracing. Like a lost friend he'd always known and loved turned out to be beside him all along.

_Eclipsa_ _..._

The aggressive one turned its head toward the sound of Jester's gasp and immediately charged. The swift Septarian dove again and kicked off the reef, swimming for his life. The moment he dared to look back, though, he realized the trail of dark magic he'd left in his wake had thwarted off his pursuer. Jester didn't want to relax, though. He kept swimming, down, down, further down.

Until he noticed a current picking up. It felt to be all around him, all around the area; one enormous circle where all the water pulled gradually to a singularity. Curious, he followed the current to a place where all the water seemed to shoot straight down; a waterfall underwater? And just like a waterfall rages, he couldn't see past it. He only noticed too late that the current had grown too strong, pulling him forward and down towards the unknown once again... only this time he was fully aware.

Jester clung onto the nearest crystal pillar. He tried climbing back to the surface, desperate for a breath, but every time he let go for even a second the riptide threatened to take him. Then he felt a splash from above. The dark unicorn galloped down through the water. They circled, motioning their head up to come with. He quickly grabbed onto their mane and rode up to the surface with them.

Jester gulped in air and climbed onto the unicorn's back as it trotted across the surface. While catching his breath he looked around for the other one. He was nowhere to be found. In his disappearance and in the returning silence, Jester noticed a subtle new sound. The longer he listened, a new sound would come one after another. Whinnying of other horses; hooves against soft, dry ground; tinkling almost like bells; snapping and crackling. But above them all: anvils.

Jester turned toward it, toward the place the two unicorns had been blocking from his sight. At the surface the water continued to pull in its direction, and without him asking, the dark horse walked forward for a better look. They both looked down into the place where the water fell, and he tried his best to comprehend what he saw.

The short and simple answer would be an enormous chasm, a gaping hole in the world in which all the surrounding water would fall in. Yet it didn't simply fade from his sight after falling too far: it disappeared altogether, blinking out of existence behind a black void. Just before disappearing, though, any water touching the walls would start to swirl around the void as if in a whirlpool. Upon doing so it would shift from its normal gold color to blue, to violet, to red, then to nothing.

Jester leaned forward just a bit more to better listen, wondering if perhaps this was what he was called to. He closed his eyes to absorb the sensation, and the slightest smell brushed his nostrils: Soot. Soot, coal, burning metal, fire and brimstone. He gave a little smile upon being reminded of the smithing shop he'd worked for. But the whinnying noises began to sound distressed, almost suffering, and those pleasant memories of the forge shifted and distorted into Mewman soldiers dancing crazed around a bonfire.

His eyes snapped open and he desperately tried to shake the memories out of his head. The purple unicorn carried him away in response; he climbed down off them atop a flat crystal mass, and they brushed their face along his in reassuring comfort.

"So..." He began, unsure where to start. "You spoke of your roots, didn't you? Is that where unicorns are from? Eclipsa told me you were all born from the magic." He gasped and turned to face them. "I do know you from somewhere, don't I? Eclipsa: you're her millhorse."

They nodded. "She calls me Orion the Brindle."

"Can you tell me...do you know where she left to?"

"She's safe. And happy. That's all that matters.

Jester huffed. "Hm. Well. Good for her."

Orion stepped forward, regarding him with a curious and anticipating gaze. "I've tried confronting you in dreams before. It's nice to finally meet you, Jester."

His eyes widened. "I knew those visions were real. So, _you're_ the one who's been calling me?"

"Many of us have. But our songs can only reach those who need or wish to be called."

Jester glared. "' _Wish_?' All I want is for this to stop."

"Perhaps it's a need, then. We have a purpose, and so must you if you have the power to walk through this place without losing yourself. Someone like you must be the key to our salvation."

"Salvation? You're a prisoner?"

Orion sighed. "There's so much I want to explain, and so few ways I know to describe it. I barely understand myself."

"I ..." He thought about Juno waiting for him, wondering why she hadn't come in the first place, after all her adamancy about braving this ordeal with him. "...don't think I have time for the full story."

"You would under different circumstances. I never would've called you had I known you'd bring ... company."

Jester tilted his head. "Why's it important for me to be alone? What kind of trap is this?"

"One orchestrated by the Magic, not by us. It happens to everyone. We unicorns have been here for so many generations we've forgotten our own roots." Orion looked off into the distance longingly, almost in regret. "So too does anyone who stays too long. They have endless fun, then never want to leave. They forget their roots, their purpose, their lives, and eventually lose everything."

They turned back to Jester expectantly. "Except for you, apparently."

The weight of their words took a moment to settle, not because of his own mysterious calling, but because of _her_.

"And Juno? What's going to happen to her?"

Orion shook their head, their tone growing darker and more serious. "Your friend is in danger. She'll lose herself here...and not just to the magic."

_No._

"...I have to go back. Now." Jester took a step backward, ready to bolt.

"Wait! I haven't told you everything!"

Jester snapped. "I can't help you! Whatever your 'salvation' is, I have more important things to worry about right now!"

He turned tail and ran. Luckily Orion had brought him to an area where the path from there to where he'd left Juno was all mostly flat ground and shallow water. He wasn't sure how much stock to put in the unicorn's words, but if what they said would happen to Juno was anything like the way he'd lose himself in those visions and sleep spells, then he couldn't risk not trusting their warning.

This place. All the wonder mysticism of this realm, of magic itself. He'd wanted to believe it could be different from ways he's been wronged by magic in the past. But if Orion's words were true, then it was _all_ true. And, deep down, he felt he'd known it all his life. Magic and all its delight. It wasn't just a lie: _it was a trap._

* * *

Jester's feet slammed through the water step after step, desperate to reach their goal before it was too late. Although he still wasn't sure when, or even why, it would be too late, his gut screamed for him to hurry back to Juno, his heart racing in response. At last he found his way back to the spot they'd fallen asleep next to each other. Nothing.

His head darted back and forth, eyes searching frantically across the horizon. Then golden waters danced out of the corner of his eye. The waves carried a boot in front of him. Then another. _Juno's riding boots._ He picked them up and followed where the waves came from, trudging through water up to his torso, determined to find her, or another article of clothing, or even a half-eaten marshmallow. He'd take what he could get at this point.

"Juno?" he shouted. "We have to go! Can you hear me? Juno?"

"Oof!"

Jester whipped his head toward the sound, to a forest of crystal plateaus where the golden waters faded into rivers of different colors: violet, green, blue, and pink. He weaved through the crystal formations following the green river as it carried Juno's gauntlets and even clumps of her hair. Though cumbersome, he picked them up too and bounded around and through the crystal forest. He came across a light waterfall pouring over familiar fiery hair and olive skin, where he saw the flash of a sickle blade swinging through the air.

"Juno!" he called out to her, though she seemed to not notice.

Her jacket hung down over her elbows and her hair was slowly unraveling from its braid, the end of it caught in the crevasse of a cracked crystal.

"Hey, are you okay?"

She finally looked at him. "Oh! I was just trying to wash off. Dumb crystal ate my hair."

Together they grabbed her hair and bunched it in a way where pulling it wouldn't hurt as much, then he took her sickle blade and swiped haphazardly several times at the end until it came loose in uneven chopped edges. Jester didn't breathe a sigh of relief yet, though. He shoved the rest of her armor in her hands.

"Get your clothes on. Hurry."

"My what now?" She cocked her head and just stared blankly at the pile.

Jester stirred uncomfortably. "Just get dressed. We have to leave."

Juno shrugged and casually slipped on her gauntlets, mindless of the urgency in his voice and body language. Impatient, he grabbed the sides of her jacket and yanked them back over her shoulders, even tying it in the front for her while she fiddled with her boots. Then she asked where they were going.

"How should I know? Anywhere but here."

"Why?"

"We're in danger. This world isn't as beautiful as it looks; it's a trap. As much as I can't stomach the thought, going back home might even be safer than this." He turned around and began to walk, expecting her to follow, but stopped dead in his tracks at the next absent-minded thing Juno spoke:

"But I _am_ home."

He turned to stare at her horrified, but she had already walked in the opposite direction and hopped on top of a crystal.

_Orion was right._ _It's already happening._ "Stop!"

With a running start he leapt up after her and grabbed her arm before she could play with anything else.

"Don't you wanna play some more?"

"No, Juno!"

"'Juno?' Who calls me that?"

"Y-you do! How do you not-" He grabbed her other arm and stared her down. "Do you even know who _I_ am?"

"Hmm..." She pecked him on the nose. "I know you're fun!"

_Aaaaaand_ _she's lost it._

She tried to pull him towards a swarm of jellyfish flying by, but he held his grip firm. She snatched one arm free and pointed at the swarm. "Come on."

"Please!" Jester entwined his fingers through hers. She looked down at her hand in awe, then into his eyes, finally regarding him with her full attention.

"Listen to me. Something really bad is going to happen to you if you stay here. I know this place was supposed to be our own little world, but we can't use it to hide away. We don't need magic to escape our problems. All we need is each other. Do you believe that?"

One hand locked fingers with hers, the other hand outstretched in a silent plea for her to take it. She stared down at their fingers, her vapid grin having long faltered. Her free hand lifted up slowly, feebly, ready to retreat at any moment. But at last she took Jester's hand. Juno the Daring made her choice.

"Yeah...I do."

And, as disgraces and traitors to both their people, Jester Cross and Juno Sagina ran to flee a world of magic once again. Hand in hand they bounded forward hoping to find their way back to the wells. They saw their refuge in the form of several clusters of golden waterfalls in the far distance, and Jester hoped to cosmos they'd be able to recognize whichever one they'd fallen from.

However, before they could close the distance, a gray figure darted past them and blocked their way. Threatening them was a unicorn solid as stone, both in color and in sheer strength and durability. His battle-scarred body and his broken horn loomed several heads over Juno. A single eye and a stitched lump stared daggers into Jester's soul, water lapping in chaotic splashes at the Septarian's ankles as the hardened unicorn slammed his horseshoes into the ground.

"I've got new friends, Bartholomew. Go away!" Juno groaned.

_Bartholomew? How did she know his name? If Orion was connected to_ _Eclipsa_ _, then is_ this _unicorn connected to Solaria?_

The gray beast snorted her direction. Jester immediately threw an arm up to shield her, though she seemed more just annoyed than wary. Bartholomew muttered through his teeth about how she was a disgrace to her people. To magic.

"Stay away from her." Jester's firm tone of voice earned Bartholomew a stuck-out tongue from Juno. He kept one arm in front of her and the other arm ready to fight at any second. Bartholomew seemed more interested in Jester anyway, taking a step closer toward him.

"You don't belong here."

"You don't say..." Jester was starting to match Juno's irritation. "If you'd just get out of our way, we'll gladly be out of your hair forever."

" _She_ can't be allowed to leave, and I can't risk _you_ coming back here someday."

He wanted to listen to his Monster blood and stand his ground, to say "Or what?", to at least do _something_ to prove he wouldn't be moved. But those eyes. That raging thundercloud gaze. The malice in that voice, the menace in that stance. Jester's legs gave way to a tremble as he found himself back at the tower- back in the nightmare -in the Monster Carver's presence.

An enormous splash snapped him out of it. Behind Bartholomew a figure crashed out from one of the magic wells. A bipedal equestrian creature landed with a palm to the ground, a staff extended in the other hand. It stood, white toga flowing in the wind, and lifted its winged staff, twirling it a few times before slamming it to the ground.

"Clockwork Shock!"

A mandela glowed from the golden waters following his roar. A bright light engulfed Bartholomew and the figure, and when it faded the unicorn was the one in front of the wells while the staff-wielder stood in front of Jester and Juno. His sunflower skin and furry horns were splotched with brown spots, resembling a giraffe, with pale blue eyes that regarded the Solarian and the Monster with urgency.

"Jester Cross, I presume?"

Jester's blood boiled. Nevermind the hourglass emblems adorning his toga or the magic he wielded. The regality in his voice was enough of a giveaway.

"You're one of _them,_ aren't you?" he hissed at the Magic High Commissioner.

"My name is Reynaldo. I'm here to help."

"Hm, why am I skeptical?"

Reynaldo ignored his sarcasm. "Omnitraxus saw a vision of you here, but I didn't want to believe it. Do you have any idea how dangerous this place is?"

He sneered for a split second. "No. As a Monster, I'm not _supposed_ to know these things."

Reynaldo took a step closer and raised his voice. " _You. Don't. Belong. Here._ "

The Septarian hesitated for a moment, then growled. "You know what? I'm a little tired of everyone telling me where I do and don't belong. If I'm not supposed to be here, then why am I being called? Why is Juno losing herself and I'm not??"

"I don't know." He shook his head. "But you'll lose her forever if you don't leave."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do! Why are you blocking us?"

"Because you have no guarantee she'll return to normal once you go!"

Jester started. He stared at Juno, his words gone. What if Reynaldo was right? What if Orion was right; that there was more danger than what met the eye?

"Just come with me," he continued, extending his hand. "I can help."

Jester snapped his head back toward Reynaldo and spat, "By doing what? Turning us in?"

In a firm tone he leaned forward and said, "You can either leave through my way or risk losing your lives."

Jester balled his fists. _No..._ So many threats. So many propositions and manipulations. And he'd dragged Juno into his life of struggle and blackmail. Whether or not he needed to feel guilty about it, he was still responsible for it. For her. Especially in her current state.

" _No! You just stay away from me-_ " he swept a blissfully distracted Juno into arms bridal style then turned tail and ran once more "- _and stay away from Juno!_ _"_

Of course he knew it was foolish. Of course he knew they were running from their refuge. But at what cost did it come through Reynaldo's path? At what cost did refuge always come...for a Monster?


End file.
